Really, it is difficult to decide whether France would have been a loser by the change.

After so many compliments had been paid him by the servants of Paris, King Christian wished to form the personal acquaintance of the most renowned academicians of the day, and hence invited twenty of them to dinner. Among them were d'Alembert, Diderot, Helvetius, Marmontel, la Condamine, Voisenon, &c. The king seated himself between Diderot and Helvetius, and spoke in terms of praise of the "Bijoux Indiscrets" of the one, and the "Œuvres Philosophiques" of the other, and delighted all his learned guests by his affability. Struensee was also at table, and through his clever remarks about French literature and the Empress of Russia, more especially attracted the admiration of his immediate neighbours, who were Baron von Grimm, the Saxe-Coburg Envoy and news-writer to Catharine II., the private secretary of the Duc d'Orléans, and the playwright Saurin.

On the 24th, the king visited the parliament, when he was received by the celebrated Advocate-General Séquier with a Latin speech, of which it is doubtful whether he understood much. After this, Christian paid a three days' visit to the Prince of Condé at Chantilly. This entertainment was probably the finest of all those given to Christian. As it was free to all persons, it was computed that there were at least six thousand guests present, and the concourse of nobility and gentry of both sexes to it was so prodigious, that the Rue St. Denis, which is longer than Holborn, was so filled with carriages from end to end, that there was no passage through it. The entertainment continued for three days and nights, during which open house was kept for all comers, without distinction. There was likewise a very grand hunt in the forest by torch-light. After a wild boar had been chased for a long while, a nobleman killed it with a bow and arrow.[83] The cost of this entertainment was defrayed by Louis XV., and a full account of all the festivities that took place was forwarded to the Empress of Russia by Grimm.

Such were Christian's public performances in Paris, but his private ones were of the same nature as in London, so far as the genius of the two countries admitted. Ladies of high rank, flattered by the homage of the monarch, while they despised the man, disputed the unenviable notoriety of his attentions; and in the court of Louis XV., which was immersed in gallantry, Christian found an example and sanction for every excess. The two kings frequently supped together en partie carrée, laying aside in mutual freedom and convivial mirth all stateliness and majesty. The time fixed for Christian's departure made him forget the trammels of royalty; and, in taking his leave of the French monarch, he declared Versailles and Paris, under his Majesty's auspices, the favourite abode of Apollo, Venus, and Minerva.[84]

Accompanied by the Comte de Noailles and the Prince de Poix, Christian witnessed, on Dec. 6, the display of the fountains at the royal palaces of Marly, Trianon, and Versailles; and, at the latter, was magnificently entertained by Louis XV. in farewell.

Before he left Paris, Christian VII. offered on his return to his states to raise a new cavalry regiment for the French service, and give the command of it to the Duc de Duras and his descendants in perpetuum. When Caroline Matilda heard of this, she wittily remarked that "the king was a very good Frenchman, but a very bad politician." This was communicated to Christian with many aggravating circumstances by the emissaries of the queen dowager. Another observation attributed to the queen on hearing of her husband's successes in Paris, that "if he had travelled incog., he would have returned to his dominions with a blank list of bonnes fortunes," was doubtless an invention of malice. Probably the offer of the regiment was declined; at any rate, no trace of it is to be found in the Danish archives.

All the poets who sang the praises of Chrétien l'adoré—and among the panegyrics I find the following neat exception to the rule of worthlessness, written by M. de Chamfort:—

all the artists who had counterfeited him, the sculptors who had represented him, the actors and prima donnas who had amused him, were rewarded with truly royal gifts. Even the Dames de la Halle, who had employed their old privilege of handing a bouquet to crowned heads, and whose leader also requested permission to give him a kiss, were willingly received by the fun-loving youth.[85] When the pretty spokeswoman had expressed her wish, he laughingly offered her first one cheek and then the other, with the words: "Eh bien, madame, choisissez!" The clever Parisienne, however, took the liberty of kissing both cheeks, and received as reward 20 louis d'or. The king left a present of 6,000 livres for the poor of Paris, though his own were starving.

On the last day of his stay in the world's capital, Christian gave the Duc de Duras—in addition to his miniature painted by the Danish artist Jans Juel, and set in diamonds—a gold-mounted sword of honour set with pearls and jewels, valued at 20,000 livres. The duc's wife received a diamond necklace, and Madame de Flavecourt, whose beauty had attracted the king on his first arrival, a valuable suite of pearls.

The king's portrait was displayed in all the windows, and under it could be read the lines:—

It is really a painful task to dispel the favourable opinion expressed of Christian VII. in these verses, but I am bound to be impartial. Reverdil tells us bluntly that in France, in spite of the flattery employed, and the prejudice in the king's favour entertained by those who only caught a transient glance of him, such persons as were in daily intercourse with him, and were able to watch him closely, detected in him an incipience of mania, and heard him make extravagant remarks. They also noticed that in his moments of aberration, a glance from Holck recalled him to his senses.

After a stay of seven weeks, Christian quitted Paris on December 9, in order to return to his own states. At Metz he allowed himself to be detained for three days by all sorts of festivities offered him by Maréchal d'Armentières, and proceeded thence to Strasburg, where he arrived on the 16th, and accepted an invitation from the Elector Carl Theodore of the Palatinate to travel viâ Mannheim. On the 18th he arrived in the latter city, and was received with all imaginable ostentation. After visiting, on the following day, the Electoral Library, Academy of Sciences, Treasury, picture gallery, and cabinet of coins, and being presented by his host with a series of medals of the electors coined in Rhine gold, Christian continued his journey on the 28th to Hanau, in order to visit his two sisters.

After four days' stay here, the king travelled through Cassel and Brunswick, and reached Hamburg on New Year's Day, where he was received with a royal salute. On January 4 he arrived at Altona, the first city in his dominions, and was welcomed by all possible demonstrations of joy. The children of the Orphan Hospital and other charities were ranged in two lines, with wax tapers in their hands, as his Majesty passed to the palace. All the houses were illuminated, and a grand emblematical firework, inscribed optimo regi, was played off, which was followed by a grand masked ball. Here, too, Christian received his last heavy discharge of verse, in the shape of a panegyric, from one Madame Wildin of Glückstadt, in which the lady, with extensive view, surveys mankind from Copenhagen to London and Paris. Her account of the English is so droll that room must be made for it:—

From Altona the Danish monarch proceeded to Ahrensburg, and remained for two days on the estate of his marshal of the journey, Baron von Schimmelmann. After this short rest the journey was continued so hurriedly, that, on January 14, after an absence of seven months, he made his festal entry into his capital by the side of Queen Caroline Matilda, who drove out to Roeskilde to meet him. At night the whole city was illuminated, for the nation still expected a fortunate change at any moment, and would not be disabused, although their hope was constantly deceived.

CHAPTER VIII.

The three ministers who had managed the affairs of state during the King of Denmark's absence, were Counts von Thott and Moltke, and Herr von Rosenkrantz. The first attended to home affairs; the second occupied the post of foreign minister, rendered vacant by Bernstorff's absence; and the third was at the head of the War Office. The Admiralty had recently lost a respected chief, through the removal of old Count von Danneskjold Samsöe, and Count von Danneskjold Laurvig, who took his place, was far from filling it worthily. Of these four men, Rosenkrantz was the only one to whom the attention of those who sought a party leader could be turned. He was a thorough man of the world; a noble air, insinuating politeness, elegant manners, a polished mind, a great propensity for intrigue, and an artistic suppleness, were the principal qualities of this man, and rendered him well fitted to play a part in court intrigues. But it was as yet too early to think of forming a party. The first period of the king's government had offered too many examples that the highest favour and the lowest fall were too near together for any one to place confidence either in his own good luck, or that of another person.

The three other men I have mentioned, regarded the court quarrels as intrigues that were beneath them. Count von Thott, an honest and well-informed man, had a rich source of consolation against any blow of fate in himself and his acquirements. In every conjuncture he proved equal to himself and his merits. He accepted whatever fortune offered him without arrogance, and lost it without despondency. Such a man was not born for political intrigue. Count von Moltke had played such a brilliant part in the last reign; he had so carefully and cautiously profited by the favouring circumstances of that day; he was so highly respected throughout the kingdom, that there was reason for believing that, under all circumstances, he would be alone able to withstand any opposition offered him by the court. It is true, that his ambition was notorious. It was known that he regarded pomp as an indispensable accompaniment of happiness. But people also reflected that there is an age when the spur of ambition becomes blunted, and when a man does not care to sacrifice the pleasant repose of undisturbed happiness to imaginary and uncertain prospects.

Count Laurvig had only the manner and acquirements which are attained by long practice and intimacy with high society. He had also ever sacrificed his reputation to his pleasures; and, in some affairs, had behaved with such recklessness, that he had forfeited the general respect which he possessed before these errors. With such principles, no man can advance far on the path of ambition. From the last three members of the government, therefore, no complicated court intrigues could be anticipated.

The Danish people, at this time, were in a state of sullen discontent. They were dissatisfied with the maintenance of the poll tax, which they had been promised should be soon abolished, when it was established in 1762, on the occasion of an impending war with Russia; but they were probably more dissatisfied with the way in which the money was spent than with the tax itself. The Norwegians, more especially, were very angry, and broke into complaints, whose tone was extremely serious. This dissatisfaction had hardly been appeased, and the people were beginning to endure the burden more patiently, when a new source of sorrow and anger was opened for the nation. This was the king's costly tour, which exhausted the finances, and caused a suspension of all the outlay, by which the nation had previously profited. Road-making, the maintenance of the royal palaces, the proposed augmentation of the army, were all prevented. Ready money was sent out of the country; the rate of exchange with Hamburg rose enormously; trade began to sink, and credit almost disappeared.[87]

In this sad condition, Christian found his kingdom on his return. His fickle mind, which dwelt on nothing that did not relate to his own insignificant amusements, prevented him from weighing the serious nature of these facts, and destroyed in him every feeling that should have called his attention to them. On the other hand, we must allow, that all who now saw the king again, were struck by the favourable change which the tour had produced in him. He had acquired an elegant manner, and laid aside many of his bad habits. At the same time, he had really examined much abroad, and thus gained wider views. Hence, Bernstorff was complimented on the good results of the royal trip, and people seemed quite to overlook the fact that Holck was still Christian's intimate friend; and that, on the 25th August last, the king had appointed him Grand Maître de la Garderobe et des plaisirs, by which the count was raised to the rank of a privy councillor, only nine months after his nomination as a gentleman of the bed-chamber. In fact, the king's attachment to his favourite had attained such a height, that one day, in England, by Christian's orders, the couriers' horses were almost ridden to death, solely to bring up the count in time to be present at a large party, where he would meet the new lady of his love. For Count Holck had been left a widower after only a few weeks' marriage with the delicate Fräulein von Stockfleth, but speedily contrived to console himself. He fell in love with Lady Bel Stanhope, and Christian himself interposed on his behalf. The mother was not averse, but Lady Bel very sensibly refused. His rival was Sackville, afterwards Duke of Dorset, of whom, as Walpole tells us, he said "ce gros noir n'est pas beau," which implied, that he thought his own whiteness and pertness charming. Amusing tales were whispered about the intimacy of the king and the master of the wardrobe, and their amours during the tour; and, in truth, after the first impression had worn off, the king's state of health, which had never been satisfactory, proved of what nature the amusements of the friends must principally have been. The incessant variety of stupifying amusements, and, at the same time, an excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures, had evidently exhausted the king, and undermined his moral and physical powers.

We can quite understand how the complaints about augmentation of the taxes grew louder when it was found that the chief object of the tour, the moral improvement of the young king, had been an utter failure. Enormous sums had to be found to pay for the articles purchased in England and France, and fresh loans, as a necessary result, raised. Matters now came to such a pitch that the Treasury was unable to satisfy the current expenses, which caused great embarrassment. And it must be borne in mind that the Danish population was not in a condition to endure any increased taxation. Prince Charles of Hesse gives us a dreadful picture of the country as it remained from the time when he first visited it up to the reign of Frederick VI. The peasant was a serf in Denmark in the fullest meaning of the term. There was no justice for him; no protection against his owner. Many of the latter had been the bailiffs, who had ruined their absent masters, and eventually purchased their estates. The wretched Danish peasant stood under the merciless whip of these vile men. He was at the mercy of his master, who compelled him to take a poor farm and put it in order, and when he had got it into a good state by the sweat of his brow and his industry, drove him out to do the same at another farm. The master forced him to marry whomsoever he thought proper. At the slightest opposition, he handed over the wretch to the militia, or sold him for 50 crowns to a captain, on condition that he would never again be allowed to set foot in his native province.

Jütland was the most trampled province; but in Zeeland affairs were worst of all, for there the peasant was almost quite brutalized. He possessed a number of small horses, which, in winter, supported themselves almost exclusively on grass or roots, which they scratched from under the snow; little carts in which the boors took a small lot of grain to market; huts that resembled those of savages—such was the almost hideous aspect of this fair province. The only market which even the most distant farmers could attend was held at Copenhagen. They came to market, made their sales, ran to the tavern to drink, started home drunk, and with loosened rein, but stopped punctually at every pothouse, of which there was one every mile, so that they might not emerge from the only happy condition they knew. At the same time, Denmark derived everything from abroad; and Hamburg was the entrepôt of articles of luxury, delicate eating, and dainty vegetables.[88] From such a sketch, we can easily understand why the nation groaned in spirit at the extravagant outlay entailed by the king's hopeless tour.

Under such depressing circumstances, the nation was naturally greatly annoyed at finding that the treasury had frequently to aid Count Holck in defraying his lavish expenditure. Thus, for instance, he purchased the Blaagaard Villa, in front of the northern gate of the capital, and decorated it with handsome new buildings and fine gardens. Nothing more was heard, however, of the former nocturnal scenes, as we have seen how the king's first mistress was expelled from Copenhagen. From this time, the police were enabled to do their duty during any night rows, while, prior to the king's tour, the police-master had been ordered not to interfere with the king or any of his suite. The result of this was, that many offences committed by other persons were attributed to the king.[89]

After the king's return, a different mode of life was introduced at court,—the former short dinner-hour was lengthened, and, though kept within the limits of ceremony, employed for general conversation. The king inspected the docks and scientific institutions of the capital, probably with the object of comparing them with those he had seen abroad. It was also noticed with satisfaction that the king was beginning to busy himself with the affairs of government, which, it was supposed, must be ascribed to Bernstorff's good influence, although the premier was still unable to carry out his favourite decree of attaining the dignity of Grand Chancellor.

The court itself had also grown more lively. The two queen dowagers and the hereditary Prince Frederick had sought, during the last summer, amusement by paying each other visits at their summer houses, and by staying with the nobles at their country seats. The reigning queen, however, remained at Frederiksberg, and found her only delight in her little son, the crown prince. In September, she and Juliana Maria returned to the capital to spend the winter there; and at the beginning of autumn, the opening of the theatre afforded them some slight amusement.

In proportion as the king declined and degenerated in his physical and intellectual powers, Matilda had made more than proportionate advances. Her person was much increased in height and breadth; her air and appearance were more dignified and imposing; her mind seemed to have acquired firmness; and, on their first interview, her conscious husband absolutely started at the improved appearance of his queen; reflecting on his own imbecility, he seemed half reluctant, half afraid to meet her.[90]

We have seen that intrigues were at work, during the king's absence, to heighten the alienation he felt from his wife, and ere long his behaviour to her subsided from cold familiarity into cruel disrespect. Matilda, who felt a reluctance to acquaint the royal family in England with the daily mortifications and slights she met with from the king and his step-mother, gave vent to her grief and vexation in a letter which she wrote to the Princess Mary of Hesse Cassel. This lady's consanguinity with the King of Denmark, and the marriage of her son with Christian's sister, doubtless suggested the application to her. The following is an exact copy of the letter:—

Copenhagen, March 22, 1769.

Madam and good Aunt,

You are not unacquainted with the arts, devices, and aspiring views of the queen dowager, who seems solely bent on undermining the royal authority, the exercises of which she assumes solely to herself; and, after having made the king contemptible to his subjects, in availing herself of his weakness, to give a sanction to the most flagrant acts of violence, injustice, and oppression. She has forfeited all claims to the sentiments of forgiveness and moderation I have too long manifested, in opposition to censure, insolence, and obloquy, by her last most injurious and false aspersions on my reputation and the dignity of a reigning queen. I am amazed at the king's torpor and insensibility. If any person of my attendance shows a laudable zeal for my service, or a respectful attachment to my person, it is reputed a crime, and punished with royal displeasure and dismission. Some reasons dictated by prudence have prevented me from troubling the king, my brother, on this disagreeable subject, as he might perhaps think it highly improper to interfere in grievances which he has no right to redress. I have applied to your known benevolence to do me the kind office of advising me, that I may bring the king to a sense of his wrongs and his injustice. Would you take upon yourself; as for as it is consistent with your discretion, to assist me in such a perplexing situation. I could never sufficiently acknowledge your friendly interposition to restore the peace of mind of

Your affectionate
Caroline.

Princess Mary begged the queen, her niece, would excuse her from taking any part in these royal feuds, which, instead of producing the desired effect, might perhaps stimulate her rival's vengeance, to offer her Majesty some new affronts and indignities. She professed, at the same time, a great concern for her troubles and anxiety, hoping her Majesty's good sense and conduct would confound the vile imputations of Juliana, and make the king sensible of his errors.

If the public entertained any doubts as to the terms on which the king and queen stood to each other, they were removed when the court proceeded, in May, to the palace of Frederiksberg, near Copenhagen. This gave the affair another turn, and soon dispelled the good opinion about a change in the king's mode of life, and the fancied wedded happiness of the young queen. Count Holck now lived at the "Blue Farm," in close proximity to the summer residence of the court, after being married on May 8, to the Countess Juliana Sophia, daughter of the admiral, Count Danneskjold Laurvig, which, however, did not prevent him from continuing his old course of life. Elegant court dames lodged for the summer in villas round his country seat, and a constant communication was kept up between Frederiksberg and the "Blaagaard."

In July, a visit from the Duke of Gloucester, brother of Queen Caroline Matilda, gave occasion for numerous court festivities, but also for an increased dislike on the part of the queen against the favourite. One day, the king asked Count Holck, whom the duke resembled? And the impudent favourite answered, "An English ox." The duke was in truth extremely stout, and had a corresponding broad face. The king laughed at his favourite's joke, but was so malicious as to repeat Holck's sally to the queen. The duke appears to have enjoyed himself right royally while in Copenhagen, for we read that he and his gentlemen indulged so immoderately at table, after the fashion of the age, that they were obliged to take foot-baths, and use other preventives, for fear of an attack of apoplexy before morning.

The boldness which the favourite displayed, and the loose life he himself led, and to which he habituated the king, at length aroused a party against him, which plainly increased more and more daily. At the head of it was the Supreme Court Marshal Frederick Christian von Moltke, who had recently been deposed on behalf of a man who in other respects stood far below him. But this Count Moltke did not possess the cleverness and practised craft of his father, and did not know how to overthrow the arrogant favourite. This was reserved for another man, from whom it had not been expected. This man of bourgeois origin contrived within a short period to remove not only Count Holck, but nearly all those in authority, and to introduce a spirit into the government which, had it not been overthrown, might have had the best consequences for land and nation; for the most important of his reforms were such as had endured a lengthened trial. This man was Dr. Struensee.

John Frederick Struensee was born at Halle, on August 5, 1737, where his father, Adam Struensee, the son of a cloth-factor, in New Ruppin, was at the time preacher at St. Ulrich's Church. His mother, Maria Dorothea, was the only daughter of Dr. Carl, a man given to mysticism, who had been appointed physician in ordinary by Christian VII.'s grandfather, and died in 1757, as a practising physician at Mildorf, in Dittmarsch, at the great age of ninety years.[91]

Struensee had light brown, almost flaxen hair, blue, sharp, and flashing eyes, an aquiline nose, and a high forehead; he was firmly built, and gifted with an admirable ability, great desire for learning, and a most excellent memory.[92] He received his first education at the Orphan School of his native town, where religious instruction was not only treated superficially, but several of his teachers were also given to mysticism. In their lessons they constantly said, "This you must believe, because God has spoken so in the Bible," but offered no proof that the Bible was really the word of God. Struensee concluded from this, that his teachers regarded the Bible as of divine origin, solely because they had been taught so in their youth, and was not satisfied with this.

It happened on one occasion that many of his fellow-pupils, of whom several were of notoriously loose morals, declared that they had been suddenly enlightened and converted. All sorts of edifying exercises were at once performed with these young men. Struensee, and others of his school friends, who were not among the enlightened, considered this ridiculous; and the foolish penance which the teachers imposed upon them in consequence, rendered Struensee only the more obstinate. The pietistic teachers declared that it was as godless to go about in ruffles and powdered hair as to commit actual sin. Struensee drew from this the conclusion, that as the former cannot possibly be sinful, consequently excesses are just as little sinful. The religious views of his parents, with which they sought to inoculate their son, also aided to confirm the young man in his free-thinking opinions, as he was too clever not to give the preference to an unfeigned belief in God. The father incessantly told his incredulous son how he, from his youth up, had felt in himself the most powerful workings of grace, and was constantly tormenting him with other religious tenets of a nature more or less abstruse. The mother, who had by her marriage been only confirmed in the misty views she had imbibed from her father, entirely agreed with her husband, and thus did her part to turn her son against his home; and, lastly, the father's ill-applied strictures hardened young Struensee's heart against all the exhortations of his over-pious parents. The sermons which he was forced to listen to on Sunday were powerless to produce any other opinion about religion. He saw persons at church weeping from remorse, and found them after the tears of pious repentance had been shed, no better than they had been before. The result was, that Struensee, in opposition to these hypocrites, became a perfect free-thinker.

Another trait of Struensee's character forms the keynote of his catastrophe. He was from an early age gifted with an enterprising and restless mind, and an unbridled ambition. This fact aroused in his father a well-founded apprehension, when he heard of his son's rapid progress in the world. "My son," he said to a friend, "will not be able to bear the favour of his monarch." These words contain Struensee's whole fate. Moreover, he had always an immoderate propensity for pleasure, and very liberal views as regards morality. Such faults are wont to assume enormous proportions in the intoxication of fortune: they are the more dangerous for a man whose career attracts the general attention; they lead him into serious errors; and any statesman ought carefully to try and keep them in submission.[93]

With what remarkable abilities the young man must have been endowed is proved by the fact that he was able to matriculate at the University of Halle in his fourteenth year, and had not completed his twentieth when he received his degree as Doctor. In 1757, the call of his father to be chief preacher in the town church of Altona had a material influence on Struensee's fate. The young doctor accompanied his father there, and remained for a time in the house of his parents. Ere long, however, he entered the public service, for, on October 20 of the same year, he was appointed by the government town physician of Altona, and country physician of the lordship of Pinneberg and the county of Rantzau. When his father, who had become celebrated as a theologian, was appointed by the government superintendent-general of the two duchies, and removed first to Rendsburg and then to Schleswig, the young doctor bought a house in Altona, and set up his own household. His table was laid at dinner for six persons, at supper for four, and the meals were accompanied by clever conversation. The host often gave free course to his satire, though without offending any one, and his guests were principally men of letters and officers.

In a small pamphlet I have picked up,[94] there is a curious anecdote, which serves to show the humorous side of Struensee's character. He once invited to dinner four persons, all of whom he knew to be on unfriendly terms. He delighted in the sour face cut by each new corner on seeing his aversion, but tried to reconcile them. Each of the guests whispered in his ear, "Why did you not tell me you were going to ask them, and then I would have come to you another time?" He laughed, and justly ridiculed an animosity which pedants are so fond of keeping up. Another curious circumstance is, that two skeletons stood by Struensee's bedside, holding burning candles in their hands. Whether he really read at night in this anything but agreeable company in order to habituate himself with death, cannot be positively asserted.

From 1760-62, Panning, a well-known literary man of the day, lived with Struensee, and the couple started, in July, 1763, a new literary experiment, called the "Monthly Journal, for Instruction and Amusement." The first number is now lying before me; but there is nothing very wonderful in it. It is supposed that an article, under the heading of "Thoughts of a Surgeon about the Causes of Depopulation in a given Country," was written by Struensee, because the essay contains ideas which were afterwards set in practice by him. Although the magazine contained various articles quite equal to the average of those days, it was dropped at the end of six months, and when Struensee was asked why he had not gone on with it, as it was generally popular, he replied that literature did not pay. Afterwards, he published some medico-scientific treatises, and an essay on the respect which an author ought to entertain for the public.

Struensee's studies and reading were not restricted to professional topics. One of his favourite authors was Voltaire; but he also had a great veneration for J. J. Rousseau. With Helvetius, he inclined to the opinion, that as all men have equal organisms, they must be competent to attain the same things, and this axiom he applied to himself through the flattery of others. With Boulanger, he also assumed at that time that fear of all mighty nature was the primitive source of all religions among the ancient nations. Although Struensee never swerved in his belief that the universe and the human race had their origin in Deity, he could never be brought to the conviction that man was composed of two substances. He assumed that God set human nature first in action, but that when the machine ceased acting, i.e., when a man died, he had nothing more to hope or fear.

In the meanwhile Struensee continued to work faithfully in his profession. Some successful cures gained him a reputation, and as he was sincere and frank, never condemned others or judged too severely, he acquired numerous friends. His agreeable person and pleasant manners helped to make him a popular physician, and we can quite understand how the ladies selected the good-looking doctor to attend to their maladies, real or pretended. After the fashion of the day, the ladies had their little jests with him, and he confessed, though always in a delicate manner, that he was an admirer of the fair sex. When, however, persons tried to make him blush by repeating to him some loose anecdote connected with himself, he always blunted its point by displaying the utmost discretion.[95] It is to be regretted that he did not follow the same good rule in the awful crisis of his life.

Struensee soon gained access to the first houses, and found a powerful patron in Privy Councillor Imperial Count Hans zu Rantzau-Ascheberg.[96] This count's son was Major General Schack Karl, Count zu Rantzau, who became one of the principal actors in the ensuing tragedy. He soon became intimate with the young doctor, and they made an agreement that if either of them attained power, he should help the other. They became the more intimate, because the doctor's help was often needed for the accouchement of persons with whom Rantzau had had adulterous intercourse. Struensee rendered these services with a generosity far above his fortune; even more, he supported Rantzau for some time, and advanced him the necessary funds to appear at court; so that Struensee, instead of being the count's protégé, rather played the part of protector. Rantzau, by his flattery, gave the doctor an exaggerated idea of his capacity, and fostered in him the ambition which became his ruin. The count, however, only thought of gaining a creature, and fully believed that if he ever became again a great lord and general officer, Struensee would no longer be his friend, but his client and physician. In the latter capacity Struensee rendered him a signal service. Countess zu Rantzau, while residing at Altona, was attacked by small-pox of a very malignant character. All the Rantzaus combined in demanding that another physician should be called in, but the husband insisted and declared that his friend had genius, which was better than science. The disease was very well treated, and the cure of the countess rendered the doctor dear to all the family, their friends, and protégés.[97]

Another house where Struensee met with a most friendly reception, was that of the administrator of the county, Privy Councillor Baron von Söhlenthal, who was the step-father of Enevold Brandt. Struensee was also physician to the Landrost of the Lordship of Pinneberg, Privy Councillor von Berkentin, whose wife, after the Drost's death, was appointed chief gouvernante of the hereditary Prince Frederick. At this house Struensee is stated often to have said, half in jest, half in earnest, "My ladies and patronesses, only contrive to get me to Copenhagen, and I will make matters all right." Struensee was also on very friendly terms with Equerry and Chamberlain von Bülow; and lastly, he made at Altona the acquaintance of the then Captain Falckenskjold, who was fated to suffer so terribly for this acquaintance, and of Count Conrad von Holck, when the King of Denmark came to the duchies in 1767.

This period was probably the happiest in Struensee's short life, but he found no satisfaction in his professional position. His restless, soaring mind suggested to him to resign his post, and take a voyage to Malaga or the East Indies. As his health at this time was not the best, he hoped a recovery in a milder climate. The exciting details he had read in descriptions of travels in India, and the prospect of acquiring a fine fortune there, the more urged him to the enterprise, as he had recently run into debt at Altona. At this moment a very different prospect was offered him.

When a physician in ordinary had to be appointed for Christian's projected tour abroad, Struensee was recommended by his patrons, Counts Rantzau-Ascheberg and Holck and Brandt, who had not yet fallen into disgrace, to occupy this post; and Frau von Berkentin, whose life Struensee had once saved in a dangerous illness, and Von Berger, the physician in ordinary to the king, supported this choice. Struensee himself saw in this a happy dispensation of fate, which opened to him an extensive career. He accepted the offer, and was appointed surgeon during the journey on April 5, 1768. On June 6, he joined the king's suite at Ahrensburg, and had a seat in the carriage of Legations rath Sturtz, with whom he eventually became very intimate.

During the entire tour Struensee, in consequence of his position, was frequently near the king's person, and carefully watched over his health. This often enabled him to work against the injurious influence of Count Holck over the passionate prince, for which purpose he generally had recourse to interesting conversation upon French literature. On the other hand, Struensee carefully avoided political discussions, and if ever such were brought up, he never made the slightest allusion to home affairs. Struensee even carried this precaution so far, that he either entirely broke off his correspondence with his Holstein friends, or else restricted it to indifferent topics. For the courtiers soon noticed the growing pleasure which the king found in conversing with his doctor, and perceived that Struensee possessed acquirements which fitted him to take part in other business. But Struensee still clung to his profession too much to grant room to a thought of giving it up, and was too sharp not to notice the suspicious glances which the king's entourage cast at the interesting doctor. Hence it was so little his object to overthrow Count Holck, that he completely neglected an apparently favourable opportunity. We have seen how Brandt was dismissed from court for his foolish letter to the king, and ordered to retire to Oldenburg. As he had neither salary nor pension, Bernstorff gave him a supernumerary post in the regency of that province. Growing tired of his employment, Brandt went off to Paris to have an interview with the king, and arrived just at the moment when Holck had fallen into temporary disgrace. As Struensee did not move in the matter, Brandt obtained no audience, and the favourite procured him 100 louis d'or to carry him back again.[98]

Struensee merely contented himself with weakening the immense power Holck exercised over Christian, by encouraging his feeble master to feel a greater pride in himself. As, too, Struensee never took advantage of his position to obtain gratifications for himself or his friends, he rose the higher in the respect of all persons whose respect was worth having, with whom he came in contact in foreign countries; and that the frivolous young king not only took pleasure in Struensee's clever conversation, but also granted him a certain degree of respect, he proved on every possible opportunity.

On January 7, 1769, Struensee returned to Altona in the king's suite. As he had only been appointed surgeon for the journey, he would have been obliged to resume his professional avocations, but the king would have missed him too much; and hence, on the united proposition of Bernstorff and Schimmelmann, he was appointed actual surgeon in ordinary, with a salary of 1000 dollars, while a gratification of 500 dollars was granted him to pay his debts.[99]

On arriving in the capital, Struensee occupied himself for awhile with his duties as surgeon. He employed the confidence he had acquired with the king in drawing the young autocrat's attention to the state of his health, arousing in him a liking for employment, and making him lead a more regular course of life. He spoke with him openly and fearlessly about everything that he considered right, although he frequently discovered that he offended the king by doing so. Such moments of displeasure were most marked, when he represented to Christian the injurious results of immoderate sensuality—a freedom which deserves the greater recognition, because Struensee at that time had no powerful supporter at court, but stood quite alone. For Count Holck had grown reserved toward him, and the only person who displayed any attachment to him was the page Von Warnstedt, of which Struensee took advantage to imbue this young man with principles which would be beneficial to the king, should they happen to be repeated in his presence.

On May 12, 1769, Struensee was appointed actual state councillor, and was thus privileged to take part in all the court festivities, to which only the members of the first three classes had admission.[100] He had apartments in the palace of Frederiksberg, when Christian VII. and Caroline Matilda resided there, in the summer of 1769. This enabled him to form acquaintance with all the personages of the court, and study their character. When the king returned to Copenhagen, the first signs of parties being formed began to be visible, and that attached to Holck was the most important and numerous. The first men of the state and the ministers belonged to it; for they apprehended nothing from the frivolous favourite, who only cared for pomp and pleasure: they were only afraid of the influence of the reigning queen, and foresaw that she might become dangerous to them, if ever she gained the upper hand. Holck confirmed the king in principles which must excessively displease his consort and keep her away from him: hence these men, whose only care was for their own prestige and authority, could desire nothing more than the permanence of the favour which Holck enjoyed. The few partisans of the queen dowager shared with her the gloom and tranquillity of her present state. A few young persons, who fancied they saw in the attractions and good sense of the reigning queen a power, which might with time acquire for her many partisans, and even under other circumstances regain the king's affection, seemed to take her part; but they possessed no fortune, rank, nor the experience which is necessary in court intrigues. The young queen also placed no confidence in such weak supporters, and had already formed a plan by which she hoped to attain her object.

Caroline Matilda had something active and decided in her character which could not always lie fallow. She was greatly humiliated by the insignificant part she played at court, and felt that there was no other way of re-acquiring the respect which belonged to her rank than by trying to gain the king's confidence again. She was convinced that she would never succeed in this so long as Holck remained in favour; and she could not make up her mind to place confidence in any one of the ministers, as she felt a dislike of them all, but especially of Bernstorff, whom she feared. She, therefore, determined to foil all the offensive designs she apprehended from the ministers, and overthrow the reigning favourite. To effect this, she began by displaying a marked deference towards the king, and striving to act in accordance with all his wishes. But she had not yet found the instrument whom she needed to support her, till chance threw Struensee in her way. Up to this time, the doctor had displayed no marked attachment to any party: Moltke's partisans were striving to gain him and Warnstedt over to their side; and as Struensee was a welcome guest at the house of the chief marshal of the court, for which honour he had frequently to pay, by losing heavy sums in the then fashionable game of hazard, this coterie gained their object, or at least fancied that they had succeeded.

Whether Struensee at this period of his career had an inkling of the extraordinary part he would be called upon to play, it is now impossible to say: it is evident, however, that he acted with the utmost caution in feeling his way. He was gradually gaining ground in the king's favour; but there is not the slightest evidence in support of the commonly expressed opinion, that, with his first step in Denmark, he resolved to become the de facto ruler of that country.

CHAPTER IX.

Various stories are current as to the way in which Caroline Matilda and Struensee first became acquainted. Her enemies assert that she was guilty of dissimulation from the outset, and that, for some time after she had chosen the doctor as her partisan, she feigned an aversion for him; but there appears to be no foundation for this report beyond that of party spirit. After well weighing the various accounts, I am disposed to accept, in preference, the one given in Mr. N. W. Wraxall's private journal, because he had it from one of the principal actors while the events were fresh in his memory.[101]

About this time, Struensee became intimate with a lady whose sentiments seemed to harmonize with his own. This was Frau von Gabel, wife of the admiral, and née Countess Rosenkrantz, of Willestrup, in Jütland. This lady, who was at the time only twenty-three years of age, had formerly repulsed the king's coarse advances. Struensee, in order to secure the king's favour, thought it advisable, so it was said, to give him an ostensible mistress, of whom he himself would be the real lover.[102] He chose for this purpose Frau von Gabel, a very young and charming woman, animated with a real patriotism, but too much of a republican to live at court. Struensee began by persuading her that the king had been entirely changed during his tour; he had grown affable and attentive, and capable of devoting his attention to governing. He added, that he flattered himself with having greatly contributed to this change; that the patriots ought to thank him for it, but that the work was still imperfect, and could only be completed by a woman of sense and honest character undertaking to arouse in the sovereign a moral feeling, which had been blunted by his debauchery and the vices of his favourites.

Frau von Gabel, on hearing this, desired to become better acquainted with the king, and to please him. She received repeated visits from Christian during the early part of the year, though she lived some distance from court. The clever lady strove to employ the impression she produced on the king's mind in dragging him out of the inaction which degraded him, and helping him to cast off his inglorious bonds. Still Struensee did not agree with her on two points. The first was, that she and the Moltke party insisted on removing Holck from the king's person, which Struensee considered unnecessary, because an old favourite was less injurious than a new one. The other was, that she did not, like the doctor, regard a reconciliation between the royal husband and wife as absolutely necessary for the king's happiness.

Frau von Gabel soon discovered, however, that she had been deceived as to the king's pretended amendment. In proportion as he spoke with less reserve, he displayed the same vices she had known in him formerly, and, in addition, the mania which formed their basis. She fell into a state of profound melancholy, and died in the following August, showing, in her last moments, that Struensee, far from having been her lover, had only attracted her hatred.[103]

Caroline Matilda had discovered Frau von Gabel's desire of pleasing the king, and, as a woman, naturally placed a false construction on it. She regarded Struensee as an accomplice; hated them both; and always spoke of the doctor with the most supreme contempt. Holck behaved like the engineer who hoisted himself with his own petard. Seeing the queen's detestation of the doctor, he did his utmost to force the latter upon her, and revelled in the idea of causing her increased annoyance. Caroline Matilda was, at this time, melancholy and ill, and was supposed to be affected with symptoms of dropsy. The remedies she took had no effect either on her malady or her temper, and hence the king proposed to her to consult his young doctor; and, on her refusal, insisted on it. Struensee had even more knowledge of the human heart, the world, and women, than of his profession. After observing and questioning the queen, he assured her that she was not dropsical; that her illness was not serious; and pledged himself to cure her in a short time. His treatment was as agreeable as his diagnosis; and his promises were consolatory.

"Chagrin," he said, "ennui, and a sedentary life, have produced all the mischief; your Majesty does not want medicine so much as plenty of exercise, amusements, and distractions. Ennui, which dwells in courts, principally arises from etiquette; the latter must be proscribed, or, at least, restricted to certain days, which are specially consecrated to it. Danish ladies do not ride on horseback; but your Majesty must give them the example. They may be scandalised at the outset, but the fashion and custom will make them regard the thing with more favour."

The queen took riding lessons, and became, in a short time, a good and indefatigable horsewoman. The obstructions were soon dispersed, and gaiety, recalled to court in proportion as etiquette was banished from it, caused no apprehension of a relapse being entertained. This happy cure acquired confidence and easy access for the doctor. The queen soon saw that she had been unfairly prejudiced against Struensee. On conversing him on various subjects, she found him better informed and more agreeable company than the swarm of idlers and empty-headed fops who surrounded her. She liked the doctor the more on discovering that he was thoroughly informed of the cause of her sorrow. Nothing affected her so much as the indifference of the king and the insolence of his favourites. Holck had certainly tried to gain her favour; but whether he set to work awkwardly, or that the aversion was invincible, he had only irritated her the more by his tentatives. He was reported to have boasted that he could have gained the queen's favour by rendering homage to her charms, and his indifference was the cause of her ill-will. This boast, of which he was accused, justly or unjustly, had left ineffaceable traces, and convinced the queen that all the other accusations brought against the favourite were true.

Struensee, on the contrary, was a servant of no consequence. He offered his devotion; he assured the queen that he should esteem it a happiness to employ all his credit with the king in effecting a reconciliation. The king had treated his wife, for some time past, with a respect and a ceremonious tone that resembled derision. Struensee promised to restore familiarity and confidence: results followed closely on the promises; and he attached no value to this service. It was, he said, his own interest he was studying; he felt quite comfortable in his position; all he wanted was to acquire consistent support and the protection of a person who could not be turned from him. The preceding favourites had been very blind in trying to establish their credit on the disunion of the married couple; for, in such a struggle, they must necessarily succumb. Such interesting conversations naturally entailed greater assiduity. The king appeared to approve of them, because they rendered his own situation more agreeable; and the ascendancy he allowed the queen to regain increased his own amusements. Far from opposing Struensee's visits, he sent him to the queen at all sorts of hours, with all sorts of messages, and invited him to every court festivity.

Struensee zealously continued his efforts to reconcile husband and wife, and as both placed more confidence in him daily, he was tolerably successful: only in one thing did he fail, and that was in rendering the queen better disposed towards Holck, whom she regarded as the cause of all the evil, although the latter, who was beginning to feel his influence decrease, tried, as far as lay in his power, to render himself agreeable to her. In October their Majesties returned to the capital, and the good understanding between them seemed continually to improve. The influential doctor and family adviser now found an opportunity for more extensive action, as, on January 17, 1770, a suite of rooms was given him in Christiansborg Palace.

The usual court festivities began again in this winter season. Theatrical performances, masquerades, balls, sleigh parties, and cavalcades, alternated with concerts at Count Holck's palace. Although the king took part in all these amusements, he appeared no longer to find pleasure in them. He only went because he was requested to do so, and in most matters let himself be guided by the will of others. Just as on his return from abroad he gave himself up to Bernstorff's guidance, he now only listened to what the queen or Struensee advised him. The latter had hitherto remained in retirement, and only attended to his professional duties and pleasure, until an unpleasant occurrence attracted general attention to him.

Struensee was at the Opera, in the box set apart for the gentlemen of the court, in which Filosofow also was. The unpolished Russian, however, had a bad habit of expectorating frequently, and on this evening spat on Struensee's coat. The latter dried it, and held his tongue; but had scarce done so when Filosofow insulted him again in the same way. Struensee began to murmur, but the envoy said it was a mistake, and apologised. Struensee, not satisfied with this bare apology, demanded satisfaction, and quitted the box. But the Russian, instead of meeting his man, appealed to his diplomatic position, and, on his side, demanded satisfaction of Bernstorff, who, however, would not go into the matter, but quietly allowed it to drop. We can hardly assume that Filosofow had merely acted in mistake in the box, and we can as little believe that political motives caused his improper conduct, for Struensee at this period had not mixed himself up at all in affairs of state. It is more credible that the Russian had been cut out by the good-looking doctor in a love affair, and wished to take his revenge in this coarse way.[104] Owing to this occurrence, Bernstorff was warned by one of his friends against Struensee, and advised to remove the doctor from the king's person. The minister, however, did not listen to this advice: his self-esteem concealed from him the true position of affairs, and his pride despised an enemy over whom a victory would be too cheaply gained. Such negligence is the more surprising in Bernstorff, because he had long before spoken freely to some friends about the character of Struensee and his plans, and sufficiently proved that he had investigated his rival's designs with his own peculiar shrewdness, and drawn unpleasant consequences from them.[105]

In this season Count Holck saw more and more clearly that danger threatened him. He was only able to hold his own for awhile through Struensee interposing on his behalf, although the latter openly reproved his conduct, and through attaching himself to Reventlow, Schimmelmann, and General Hauch. He regarded Struensee as his most dangerous opponent, though, as we have seen, unjustly so. Still, the doctor was beginning to make marked progress in his short career. He had acquired the special favour of both their Majesties by the better understanding he had produced between them, and the inoculation of the crown prince, which he undertook on May 2, 1770, gained him the queen's favour in a still higher degree.

The small-pox raged so fearfully in Zeeland in 1769, that in Copenhagen alone twelve hundred children fell victims to it. The common people, especially in the country, paid but little heed to the rules laid down by the physicians, and the result of this negligence was, that frequently more than one-half of those down with small-pox died in a village. Jenner's mode of vaccination was but little known at the time, and the establishment of a vaccinating dispensary was only ordered in Copenhagen on December 1, 1769. It had not got into working order when the crown prince was attacked by small-pox, and Struensee received orders to vaccinate him. He undertook the task: the illness passed over without peril, and the little patient was saved.

Caroline Matilda loved her boy most tenderly. Her good heart left her no rest from the moment when he was attacked by a disease which was of a very dangerous nature, in spite of all the experience of science. No one was allowed to take the place of the affectionate mother by the boy's bedside; she nursed him herself; she sat up with him, and awaited the moment of his waking to hand him a draught to cool his parched lips. Struensee assisted her in these maternal duties, for she would not permit him to quit for a moment the darling of her heart. This gave him an opportunity of passing many hours in the queen's presence, and she found consolation and, ere long, pleasure in his society. Her conversations with him became more confidential and important, and Struensee could easily see that the time was at hand when she would seek his alliance, and make him the confidant of all her designs.[106]

As a reward for curing the crown prince, Struensee was appointed reader to the king, and cabinet secretary to the queen, with an annual salary of 3,000 dollars, and, directly after, the title of Conferenzrath was bestowed upon him. Although people were accustomed at that day to see men who had powerful patrons overwhelmed with titles, still Struensee's sudden elevation attracted the greater notice, because he was of bourgeois origin, and had no noble protectors.

It has been frequently urged, though incorrectly, that the acceptance of this title was an error on the part of Struensee. On the contrary, it was indispensable for his object, because he derived from it the advantage of accompanying the king on his travels, and could be admitted to the royal table. Struensee was at this time as modest as he was cautious, and had very wise principles as regarded his elevation. It might almost be asserted that this caution formed part of his character, and that the errors he eventually committed must be ascribed to the circumstances in which he stood. The nature of the ambition that impelled Struensee was too great and far-sighted to be satisfied with mere trifles and insignificant privileges: he fancied he could see his way to the highest post, and resolved to attain it. Countless obstacles rose in his path, which must be removed; he had innumerable rivals who must be overcome. Universal envy prepared for him the hardest struggle, and in this he must conquer. He saw beforehand that he should never succeed in his object unless he secured a powerful position at court.

After Struensee had been appointed reader to the king, his access to the queen was much facilitated; for, as he had but little to do for his master, the queen frequently employed him. His visits became so long and assiduous, his conversation so interesting, his services so real, that familiarity gradually sprang up between them. Ere long, all the barriers which august rank opposes to individuals fell in turn, and at last, when the favourite perceived that he had become necessary, and fancied that he had inspired friendship, he ventured to pronounce that word, and was very favourably heard.

"You require," he said to the queen, "to give your confidence; and to whom could you better impart your sorrows than to your friends, to those from whom you can expect succour, owing to their ascendancy over the king? It is the misfortune of persons of your rank to have no equals, and to live only among jealous people and valets. Mutual services establish a species of equality between you and the persons who are able to oblige you."

These remarks were true: they were founded on the experience of the past: they were uttered by an amiable and insinuating man, and addressed to a person already too persuaded; to a queen who detested her rank. She unhesitatingly accepted the friendship offered her, and the proofs she gave of her own became daily more marked. Conscious of her innocence, Caroline Matilda behaved in a manner that caused people to talk, and her conduct was certainly most imprudent. Struensee was constantly seen in her company, and she granted him familiarities which, as Reverdil says, "would have ruined any ordinary woman." She gave him a seat in her carriage when they were in the country, and took solitary walks with him in the gardens and woods. At the court balls he was her constant partner, and when she rode out he was her favoured cavalier.[107] No wonder that the scandal grew, and was doubtless fanned by the ever watchful Juliana Maria. Had it been a great nobleman, it would have been different, of course, but Struensee, doctor, reader, and even raised to the second class by the title of councillor, was not an officer of the court, and could hold but one position, since he showed himself everywhere.[108]

As Holck did not dare to attack Struensee, he resolved to remove Warnstedt from the king's presence, and fancied he had discovered a good way of doing so. He proposed to the king to undertake another pleasure trip to the duchies. It was his intention, and that of his partisans, that the queen should not accompany her husband, so that they might the more easily sway the monarch when his consort was away from him. But Caroline Matilda had now more power than before the king's first journey abroad: she resolved to go too,—and Christian offered no objection. When the journey was definitively arranged for the beginning of May, Holck effected the appointment of young Herr von Hauch as page to the king, vice Warnstedt, promoted an equerry and chamberlain. But the count's glee at this victory was of but short duration, for in a few days the new page was obliged to quit the court again, though for what reason remained a mystery.

The journey was appointed for June 6, at the latest, but the old queen dowager, Sophia Magdalena, was taken ill on May 18, and died on the 27th. During the last few years she had not exercised any influence over her grandson, Christian, who was now doing his hardest to break through all his old connections in the capital. Hence, the mourning for the deceased queen was limited to the extraordinarily short period of six weeks, and to the capital, while the court retired to Frederiksberg, to escape the troublesome restraint. The departure for the duchies, however, was, for the sake of propriety, deferred till the funeral was over. The preparations were consequently hastened, and on June 13 the corpse was deposited in the royal vault of the Roeskilde Cathedral. On the 18th, their Majesties commenced their journey to their German subjects.

I need hardly say that Struensee and Warnstedt were in waiting, and Count Holck also accompanied the king. Of the members of the privy council of state, only Bernstorff was present. Reventlow paid a visit to his estates; while Thott, Moltke, and Rosenkrantz, remained in Copenhagen to attend to current business, but with express orders not to have any dealings with the foreign envoys during the king's absence; and the latter were requested, in the event of any pressing matter, to apply in writing to Count Bernstorff. The tour was in truth only a little change for the king, who was growing daily more imbecile; but it was employed by the queen, Struensee, and their partisans, to introduce the reforms they had secretly planned into the government.

Not one of the courtiers on whom Holck could reckon was in the suite. It is true that his brother, Gustavus, his brother-in-law and sister, the Von der Lühes, and his cousin, Von Lüttichau, were attached to the court; but all these were only kept in place by his influence, so that Count Bernstorff was the sole member of the Holck party left. But the count himself was beginning to totter, so that he could only keep his own position with difficulty, and was quite unable to support others.